American Masters: John Muir in the New World

Author/Presenter: Children and Nature Network	Target Grades:
Availability: All	Theme:
Cost: Free	School District: All
	Url: http://www.childrenandnature.org/pdfs/MuirTeacherGuide.pdf

Description

“As long as I live, I'll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I'll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, storm, and the avalanche. I'll acquaint myself with the glaciers and wild gardens, and get as near the heart of the world as I can.” – Journal, undated fragment, c. 1871 in Son of the Wilderness, edited by Linnie Marsh Wolfe, 1945.

WELCOME
Imagine John Muir stepping into your classroom today. No doubt he’d make an inspired teacher, passionately conveying his curiosity and insights about the natural world. But he’d probably drive school administrators crazy, too. Leaping across glacial crevasses, clambering into high trees during windstorms…his was a zeal that could hardly be replicated in convenional educaional settings!

Still, it’s amazing to read the words of John Muir and see how relevant they remain for those of us working to connect young people to nature today. He didn’t just appreciate the workings of nature. He also believed people need to spend ime in nature for their own health and happiness. In this guide, we’ve collected a variety of quotes from John Muir’s writing and proposed related activities that you can try with students of all ages. Who better to launch you and your group into new adventures and discoveries in the great outdoors?!

Click here for activities you can use to bring John Muir's words to life with your students!

Activities include: Nature and Me, Rock Stars, Three Amigos, Small Wonders, the Real World Wide Web, and Oh Beautiful.

Notes

Curriculum Matches